Would You Hold My Hand?
by The Sarcastic Polar Bear
Summary: A mother's joy begins when new life is stirring inside... when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone.


**Hola! Another new story? Don't hurt me. It shouldn't be tragically long. My good buddy obsessedwithstabler wrote this with me. She was El and Cragen. I was Liv and the brief appearance of Munch. We own nothing. I only own Luke and Brandon. If we owned it, EO would have babies by now.**

For years, all Olivia Benson had wanted was to have a family. A family to love and be loved by. When she met Luke Ransford, she thought that he could give that to her.

After one year of dating, upon finding out that she was pregnant, Luke moved in with her. Olivia accepted it gladly, and ever since she had, Elliot had been distant from her, rarely speaking a word to her.

"Hey, El," she greeted, walking into the precinct. "Thanks for doing my paperwork. Brandon woke me up crying."

He smiled knowingly. "No problem, Liv. I remember how it is." And as happy was he was for her, as much as she deserved a child of her own, there was a small part of him that wished he had fathered that little boy.

Olivia smiled back at him. She could see something in his eyes, an emotion buried deep inside of her partner.

He returned his attention to his own paperwork in front of him.

"Do you wanna go out for coffee later?"

He picked up his pen. "Sure. Your treat."

"Okay." It had been so long since they had gone out for coffee together. Olivia knew that she was dating with a son, but she longed to spend time with her best friend as well.

"Great." He didn't like her fiance, but he took every opportunity he could to spend time with her and the baby outside of work.

Olivia grinned. "I'm sorry you had to do my paperwork." It hadn't been the first time Elliot had done her work for her.

It's fine," he assured her. "You've done my paperwork for me more than once."

"You're buying decent coffee. That's good enough for me."

Olivia smirked. "What if I just have Munch make it?" she teased.

"Then I would just have to make you disappear."

"I have ears, you know!" Munch called. Olivia snickered.

"You may have ears, but you have no sense of taste when it comes to coffee," Elliot shot back.

Olivia chuckled. "We'll make sure he isn't anywhere near our coffee."

"Good. Or he would have to disappear."

Olivia laughed softly. She heard her cell phone begin to ring, and saw that it was Luke. She answered it with a smile.

Elliot's smile disappeared as Olivia answered the phone. He had met Luke Ransford on more than one occasion, and he tried not to let his disdain for the man show. He wasn't nearly good enough for Olivia, but that seemed to be the problem Elliot had with every single one of her boyfriends.

"Luke? Is everything okay?" Olivia asked worriedly. "I hear Brandon crying."

Elliot leaned closer, his feelings for Luke immediately replaced by his concern for Olivia's little son.

Olivia furrowed her eyebrow slightly. "Do you want me to come home?"

Elliot leaned back in his chair a little, watching his partner intently.

"Okay, well, call me if it gets worse," Olivia commanded gently. She hung up with a soft, "I love you."

His heart twisted when she said those last three words. He would never say anything to put her in an uncomfortable position, but deep in his heart, he knew where she and Brandon really belonged.

Olivia sighed softly.

He tipped his head to the side. "You okay, Liv?"

"Brandon's sick," she said quietly. "He's running a fever and Luke said he's been crying all day."

His eyes softened. "If you want to go home, I'm sure Cragen will let us go early. I could drive you over there, make sure the little guy is okay."

"Would you?" Olivia asked, looking at him with pleading eyes.

"Absolutely." He got up and went into the captain's office, knocking on the door. "Cap?"

Cragen looked up from the file he was reading. "What is it?"

"Liv just got a call from home. Brandon's sick. Do you mind if we duck out for a while and make sure everything's okay?"

Cragen closed his file and studied his senior detective. "We?"

"Me and Liv."

He waved a hand. "Fine. Go. Tell Olivia to take time if she needs it."

"Thanks, Cap." He backed out of the office and grabbed his jacket, then walked around to Olivia. "Let's go." He picked up her jacket and handed it to her.

"Thanks so much, El," Olivia breathed.

"It's not a problem, Liv." He pulled on his jacket and grabbed his keys and cell.

Olivia hastily pulled on her jacket, not bothering to button it as she made her way to the precinct exit. Brandon had never been sick before in the six months he had been alive, and it was worrying her to death.

Elliot followed her to his car and got into the driver's seat. "He's going to be fine, Liv," he assured her as they fastened their seat belts and he started the engine. "Kids get sick. It's scary the first time, but he'll be okay."

Olivia fingered the buttons on her jacket nervously. "I know," she mumbled. "It's just driving me insane."

He reached out and gently touched her leg. "I know. I went through the same thing the first time Maureen was sick."

"But what if it's something worse, El?"

"He'll be fine," he insisted gently.

Olivia sighed and peered out the window in silence.

Elliot let her withdraw, and before they knew it they were in front of Olivia's apartment building. He got out of the car and followed her into the building.

Olivia unlocked the door to her apartment. "Luke?" she called. She heard no answer, but the sound of glass shattering. She jumped.

Elliot immediately unholstered his gun and scanned the apartment.

Olivia put her hand on her gun and ran towards the sound. She peered into the bedroom she and Luke shared. No sign of broken glass. She peered into Brandon's room, and saw the window shattered. She stifled a scream and ran to Brandon's cradle. She began to pick the baby up, and let out a loud scream.

Elliot's blood ran cold when he heard the scream, and he ran toward it. "Olivia?" He saw her reach into the cradle, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw her pick up a doll. Then he felt bile rise up in his throat when he realized that his best friend was holding her limp child.

Olivia couldn't say a word. She couldn't move. She tried to speak, but no words came.

Olivia clutched Elliot's sleeve, too stunned to make a sound. She finally found her voice. "He's dead," she choked.

Elliot laid the baby on the bed and began the CPR he had learned when Maureen was a baby. "Come on, little man," he whispered.

Olivia trembled and watched as Elliot tried to revive the baby. She could see no sign of it happening.

After a few minutes with no response, Elliot finally pulled away and scrubbed his hands over his face.

He heard Olivia sob softly, and he quickly got to his feet. "Liv..." Roughly he pulled her into his arms and hugged her to his chest.

Olivia clung to Elliot's shirt and began to sob quietly. "My baby..."

He ran a rough hand over her hair and fought back his own tears. "Shh..." He held her tighter.

"Why, El?" she mumbled. "Why?"

"I don't know," he managed, his heart breaking for both of them. "But we're going to find out."

He would find whoever did this if it was the last thing he did.

**Don't kill us! **


End file.
